If This Wall Could Talk
by stuffbylouie
Summary: Linka took a breath. What she was about to say, she wanted to say right. He deserved that. Six years later, since the day they'd first met, and they were finally saying all they ever meant to say …
1. Chapter Yski

**If This Wall Could Talk, I.**

_Linka took a breath. What she was about to say, she wanted to say right. He deserved that. Six years later, since the day they'd first met, and they were finally saying all they ever meant to say …_

Hello all! I'm new to this fandom. This story focuses on Wheeler and Linka, and is set in Finland. Why? Because I feel like it :) There's also background stuff involving an eco emergency, some villains, and a pair of Finnish lesbians. You know, the usual! But as I said before, the main focus is Wheeler and Linka. Enjoy!

* * *

The Geo-Cruiser soared through the clear blue sky, minutes from its destination: the north of Finland.

All the Planeteers were on board: Kwame, Wheeler, Linka, Gi and Ma-Ti. Gi was in the driver's seat. Wheeler and Linka sat in the back, putting on their winter coats. They were the only ones going to Finland. Kwame and the rest were due in Berlin, Germany, to attend a convention about advances in solar power.

"Ready you two?" Gi called out to Wheeler and Linka. "I'm just about to land."

"Nice!" said Wheeler, sounding enthusiastic. "I can't wait to hit the slopes. How about you, babe?"

"Wheeler!" said Linka angrily. "We did not come all the way to Finland so that you could snowboard! We are here in support of my cousin Sohvi, and the animal shelter she runs for wolves."

Wheeler threw his head back, annoyed. "I know that Linka. Man, I was just making a joke! Has anyone ever told you you're wound up like a clock?"

"Has anyone ever told you you're stupid like something _stupid_!"

Wheeler and Linka proceeded to bicker. Meanwhile, Ma-Ti leaned over to Kwame and whispered, "Linka and Wheeler have been arguing a lot these last few weeks. Did something happen between them?"

"Nothing more then the usual," said Kwame. "You know how they like to push eachother's buttons, Ma-Ti. I wouldn't worry."

"I know. But you have to admit, the arguments are more frequent."

"Yes. I think the tension between them is at breaking point. If I were them, I would go and get a room already."

"Kwame!" said Ma-Ti in surprise, blushing a little. Kwame chuckled.

"I'm sorry, my friend. But I'm certain it'd solve everything! Not to mention it would give us _all_ some peace of mind."

Moments later, Gi landed the Geo-Cruiser.

"We're here!" she announced.

"I'm ready to roll!" said Wheeler, looking snug in his jacket, scarf and beanie. He hoisted his backpack over his shoulder. "We'll see you all in a couple of days."

"Have fun in Berlin!" said Linka, wearing her pink ear-muffs. "I would love to go with you, but I cannot pass this opportunity to visit my cousin."

Wheeler happily agreed with her.

"Yeah, I would've loved to have gone to Berlin too," he said breezily. "Except, you know," he cocked his head towards Linka, "she can't possibly survive a day without me!"

Linka swung her backpack over her shoulder – purposely hitting Wheeler's arm in the process.

"Watch it, babe!"

"_You_ watch it!"

Wheeler rubbed his arm. "That's gonna leave a mark … "

Waving goodbye, Linka then Wheeler leapt down from the Geo-Cruiser; the soles of their boots landing in snow. They continued waving as the Geo-cruiser lifted back up into the air, rising higher and higher, until it flew away and disappeared into the early morning sun. From the driver's seat, Gi breathed a long awaited sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness. They're gone! Only those two could argue all the way from Hope Island to Finland."

"I was thinking the same thing," commented Ma-Ti solemnly.

"I think Ma-Ti is concerned Wheeler and Linka are arguing too much lately, and they might not remain friends," said Kwame to Gi. Gi smiled over at Ma-Ti.

"It's okay, Ma-Ti," she said reassuringly. "They're just frustrated, that's all. They're in love with eachother and neither party has the guts to say it."

"_Why_ can't they say it? Isn't it about time?" questioned Ma-Ti, frustrated in his own right.

"I think it was 'about time' a year or two ago," Kwame intervened wisely.

"He knows it, she knows it. We all know it!" Ma-Ti went on. "Why can't they take a break from flirting and arguing for five minutes and talk? _Really_ talk … be honest with one another for once."

Kwame and Gi smiled.

"Amen to that, Ma-Ti!" said Gi with a laugh. "If we're lucky, one of them will finally crack while we're away."

* * *

"So? Where to from here?" Wheeler asked Linka, surveying the area around them.

They were deserted; standing in the centre of a wide snowy field with lush green forest located behind them, and a strip of black highway in the distance ahead. Linka looked to the highway, expectant.

A red four-wheel drive was suddenly turning off the road and coming towards them, ploughing through the snow. On reaching them, it stopped and parked. The door opened and a woman stepped out.

"_Sohvi_!" Linka cried cheerfully, making a dash for the car.

Sohvi, who was seven years older then Linka, bore a striking resemblance to her Russian cousin; though she had brown eyes and her blonde hair was cut short. She wore sunglasses and a woolly hat with ear flaps.

"Cousin Linka!" said Sohvi, embracing Linka in a hug. "It's been ages. It's so good to see you, you look gorgeous!"

"She tends to do that," quipped Wheeler from the background, giving Linka a wink.

"And who is this?" said Sohvi, pleasantly intrigued. She looked from Linka to Wheeler and back again.

"Sohvi, may I introduce Wheeler. He is a Planeteer as well."

Wheeler and Sohvi shook hands.

"Nice to meet you," said Wheeler. "Your English is excellent!"

"Thank you. I studied in the USA for two years, as part of my degree in veterinary medicine."

"No kidding? _I'm_ from the USA!"

"Yes Wheeler, that is obvious," droned Linka, with a quick roll of her eyes.

The three of them talked non-stop on the ride over to Sohvi's house, located on the outskirts of the popular ski resort called Ruka. Linka asked a lot of questions about her cousin's shelter.

"It hasn't been good, Linka. There is something going on with the wolves around these parts. Something strange."

"Strange how?" Linka enquired, furrowing her brow.

"There have been increased reports about wolves attacking people these last few weeks. As you know, wolves already have a bad reputation in Finland. They've been wrongly persecuted in the past, and were almost completely wiped out at one point. They're still practically an endangered species here. All these reports have caused serious damage, and are giving people reason hunt wolves again."

"This is terrible!" said Linka. "Are the reports true?"

"I'm afraid they are. What's strange is last week my colleague brought in an injured she-wolf to the shelter – who unfortunately died two days later, but I was able to run some tests and I found traces of some kind of chemical in her blood. A kind of steroid, known to heighten aggression."

"So someone's drugging the wolves!" Wheeler concluded, cutting to the chase.

"It is a possibility," said Linka slowly, still in analysis mode. "But a plausible one?"

"Like I said, wolves have a bad rep in this country," Sohvi continued. "There are still some people who wish they could hunt them freely. I wouldn't be surprised if someone _was_ drugging the wolves. Spreading some kind of virus ..."

"Hear that?" said Wheeler, smirking at Linka. "Sohvi agrees with me!"

"Oh, shut up Wheeler!" said Linka, crossing her arms.

Twenty minutes later they arrived at Sohvi's chalet. It was very picturesque; like a life-sized gingerbread house complete with smoking chimney and bright red window shutters. Two huskies charged them when they pulled up in the driveway and hopped out of the car.

"Hey, cool dogs!" said Wheeler, bending down with Linka to pat them.

"The grey one is Torr, and the red one is Aki," said Sohvi, slamming her door shut. "Come on in the house, we'll have some coffee and something to eat."

Everyone took off their boots at the porch, before entering inside. As soon as Sohvi opened the front door, Wheeler and Linka felt a welcome rush of warm, roasting air.

"Go relax in the lounge room, by the fire. I'll take your things upstairs," Sohvi instructed them, already grabbing both Wheeler and Linka's bags and swinging them over her shoulders. "Anneli's in the kitchen, I think."

Sohvi charged effortlessly up the staircase. Wheeler watched her go, looking impressed.

"Wow. Sohvi's strong!"

Linka nodded. "She's a mountain climber in her spare time."

Wheeler and Linka both took off their coats and other winter garments, hanging them on hooks by the door. They then headed to the room directly to their left, drawn irresistibly to the open fire like two moths to a flame. A tall, willowy girl with a pretty face and white blonde hair suddenly emerged from the kitchen, coming to greet them.

"Hello, I am Anneli," she said awkwardly, her English not as polished as Sohvi's. "You must be Sohvi's cousin Linka. And … " she looked to Wheeler, politely confused.

"I'm Wheeler!" he said, grinning stupidly and jumping forward to shake Anneli's hand. "I'm with Linka."

"Oh!" said Anneli. "I understand. You are together, how nice!"

"Together as _friends_," Linka clarified, crankily. She pulled the back of Wheeler's shirt on impulse, putting some distance between him and Anneli. After saying hello, Anneli returned to the kitchen to prepare food and hot drinks. Wheeler and Linka in the mean time sat together on the couch.

"Who is that Anneli chick? Does she live here?" Wheeler was eager to know.

"Why are you so interested?" said Linka sourly, arms crossed and looking away from him. "And yes, she does live here. She is Sohvi's partner."

"You mean she's like a vet too?"

"No, Wheeler. Anneli is Sohvi's _partner_. Get it?"

Wheeler got it. He smiled. "There go my chances, huh?"

"Wheeler!"

"I'm kidding!"

For the rest of the morning and afternoon, Wheeler and Linka helped Sohvi and Anneli with the small animal shelter situated at the back of Sohvi's property.

"This is the cub we rescued. We call her Nell," Sohvi informed Wheeler and Linka, as she leant down and picked up a tiny wolf cub from a pen, wrapped in a blanket. "She's still very young."

Both Wheeler and Linka went all gooey.

"She is so cute! Can I hold her?" asked Linka, already holding out her hands.

"Sure! Here."

Sohvi carefully passed Nell over. Linka held the cub in her arms like a newborn, Wheeler standing over them with his arm around Linka's shoulder. Linka was too distracted to 'shoo' him away, as she commonly did whenever she was upset with him. Sohvi and Anneli observed them together, conversing with eachother in Finnish and smiling.

"You two look like a pair of proud parents!" said Sohvi, snapping them out of their reverie. They were both a little embarrassed, though Wheeler was fast to recover.

"Nell does take after yours truly. Before I shave, that is ... "

Towards the late afternoon, Wheeler hung around the shelter with Anneli while Linka and Sohvi took a break and went inside the house; sitting by the fire with two oversized mugs of fresh hot chocolate.

"Wheeler is very helpful," said Sohvi conversationally. "And he's very good with animals!"

"Da," agreed Linka, a tad coldly. "Wheeler has his moments."

"I ah, I wasn't sure if he was your boyfriend or not, so I made sure to put your bags in separate rooms. Was that okay?"

"Of course!" said Linka, laughing tensely. "Separate rooms are fine. Wheeler and I … we do not sleep together."

Linka buried her face in hot chocolate on saying this. It was the truth, but saying the sentence the way she had made her feel … awkward.

"You have chocolate on your top lip," observed Sohvi, after Linka resurfaced. Linka wiped it away with her hand.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. So you're telling me that _nothing_ has ever happened between the two of you?"

"Well, that is to say … " Linka trailed off a moment, thinking. "It is complicated, but technically no. Nothing serious has happened between us."

"That's too bad," said Sohvi, rather desolately. "Because he is clearly in love with you."

Linka suddenly coughed on her hot chocolate. No one had ever proposed this fact quite so frankly to her before!

"_Nyet_!" Linka spluttered. "Wheeler is not in love with me! Wheeler just likes to flirt and play games with me. He is … how you say? Fickle?"

"But he flirts with you constantly."

"Da."

"And for how long has he been doing this?"

"Six years."

Sohvi chuckled. "Then he's not fickle Linka, he's in love with you!"

"_Nyet_!"

"_Kyllä_!"

"Then why doesn't he – "

Linka broke off.

"Why doesn't he … what?" Sohvi prompted her.

"I don't know. I don't know what I want to say!" said Linka, frustrated. "It's been so long, Sohvi. I think it is too late now. When Wheeler asked if he could come with me to Finland, I said yes. Hoping deep down something might happen … I'm not certain what, but something. Anything."

"Maybe Wheeler is afraid?" Sohvi wondered out loud.

"Afraid? _Wheeler_? No," said Linka, shaking her head. "No, Wheeler is very brash – particularly when he talks! I'm sure he would've told me how he truly felt by now."

"Well, he hasn't told you. Has he?" said Sohvi, matter-of-fact. "So that must mean he's afraid."

**To be continued ...**


	2. Chapter Kaksi

**If This Wall Could Talk, II.**

_Linka took a breath. What she was about to say, she wanted to say right. He deserved that. Six years later, since the day they'd first met, and they were finally saying all they ever meant to say …_

* * *

It was Wheeler and Linka's first night in Finland. After dinner, Wheeler went to a large shelf in the lounge room where Sohvi kept all her videos.

"Hey, we should watch this!" said Wheeler, pulling out a video case. He showed it to Linka, who turned up her nose.

"'The Howling', Wheeler? Why must you always pick the scary things!"

"That's a good movie," said Sohvi from behind them. "A classic."

"Sohvi, don't encourage him!" said Linka, glaring at her cousin.

"C'mon Linka, you'll love it!" said Wheeler, already heading for the television set. "And if you get scared, you can cuddle up to me all you want."

Sohvi smirked towards Linka, an eyebrow raised.

"Anneli and I are going to bed," she then announced. "But you guys are welcome to stay up as long as you like. Watch any video you want. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight!" said Wheeler and Linka.

'The Howling' – a gory seventies horror flick about werewolves, definitely wasn't Linka's cup of tea. Half-way through she excused herself, telling Wheeler she'd had enough and wanted to go bed.

"Uh huh, okay," said Wheeler, totally engrossed in the television screen and hardly noticing her. Linka felt like kicking him in the shin, but she restrained herself. Instead, she stalked away upstairs to her bedroom, grumpy with Wheeler. Yet again.

After using the bathroom and changing into her pajamas, Linka tiredly slid into bed. Her bedroom was Sohvi's office; her bed a sofabed. The sofabed was up against the wall. Wheeler's room was on the other side – his bed also against the wall. She briefly thought how they'd be sleeping head-to-head …

Linka fell asleep unhappy that night, because Wheeler had ignored her and didn't say goodnight. Wheeler also fell asleep unhappy that night because Linka didn't cuddle up to him – not even once! When she said she was going to bed early, he was too disappointed to acknowledge her. Hence, both went to sleep concluding the other didn't care.

_Yet again_.

* * *

Morning.

After breakfast, Wheeler offered to assist Anneli with some wood-chopping in the front yard – much to the annoyance of Linka! She watched them sourly from the front porch; standing beside Sohvi's red and grey huskies Aki and Torr, with a hot cup of coffee clenched in her hand. Sohvi crept up behind her.

"Anything happen last night between you and the American?"

"Nyet," Linka snorted, keeping her eyes on Wheeler. He was showing off his fire power to Anneli, cutting wood with ease. "Wheeler stayed up all night watching that idiotic werewolf movie, while I went to bed. Predictable!"

"Hmm," said Sohvi thoughtfully. "So no crazy naked sex then?"

"_Bozhe moy_, Sohvi!" Linka hissed in surprise, turning around. "Keep your voice down!"

"That's a 'no' then," said Sohvi with a chuckle. "Do not worry cousin. All good things happen in time."

"Why must you always be so … so … " Linka frowned while trying hard to think of the word.

"Intense?" Sohvi suggested.

"Da! Intense."

"Anneli says it's because I'm _Skorpioni_ – a Scorpio. She's an Astrologer, she knows all about this stuff. She's very good!"

Linka smirked. "So do all Scorpios like discussing crazy naked sex this early in the morning?"

"Ahem!"

The girls stopped talking. Wheeler was standing at the base of the porch steps, a pile of wood in his arms and a wide grin on his face.

"Is this a private conversation or can anybody join?" he asked, his pale blue eyes sparkling excitedly.

"_Wheeler_!" Linka snapped. She cossed her arms over her chest. "What are you doing here? How much did you hear?"

"I heard you say 'crazy naked sex', babe. I have no clue why, all I know is I'd like to contribute in any way that I can!"

"_Oh_!"

Flustered, Linka turned on her heel and stormed inside the house. Sohvi watched Linka go, before turning to Wheeler.

"I think I'll go make her some more coffee. Interested?"

"Nah," said Wheeler, shaking his head. "Thanks anyways."

Sohvi went after Linka. Wheeler stood at the porch steps a moment longer, as if stunned. He'd been honest when he said he hadn't heard any part of Linka and Sohvi's conversation. Except for the 'crazy naked sex' bit, and something about Scorpios. He'd never heard Linka say the word 'sex' before. The addition of the words 'crazy' and 'naked' sent his imagination into overdrive …

To distract himself he looked to Aki and Torr. Lying together on the porch like an old married couple.

"Relationships must be a whole lot easier in the dog world, huh?" he said to them glumly, before heading up the steps and making his way inside.

* * *

Later that morning, Sohvi made the suggestion Linka and Wheeler go into town to check on a patient at the hospital – a patient who'd been bitten by the 'infected' she-wolf Sohvi had captured the week before.

"He's a ski instructor from England," Sohvi explained to Linka, as they washed dishes together in the kitchen. "His name's Jake Spencer. I received a call earlier this morning that he's back at the hospital."

"Why is that?"

"The doctor's told me he was experiencing serious bouts of nausea. They've already tested him for rabies and found nothing. They're keeping him under observation."

"Has anybody else been bitten?" Linka asked, wiping a plate clean and handing it to Sohvi to put away. Sohvi shook her head.

"No. As far as I know it's only been Jake. Other people have _almost_ been bitten. Somebody's dog was killed – that was close to here, only ten minutes away. Jake was bitten while he was skiing."

Once the dishes were done, Sohvi added: "You and Wheeler can stay in town for the day if you'd like. Make him buy you some lunch! There are some great restaurants to choose from."

"Sohvi, I did not come all this way to go sightseeing and eat at restaurants! I came here to help you," said Linka, serious.

"You _will_ be helping me Linka," said Sohvi frankly. "By checking on Jake. And you didn't come here just to help me, you came here to get closer to Wheeler. So go get closer to him! End your torment."

Linka smiled. A little. "All right. We will go then."

As Linka expected, Wheeler was positively thrilled at the prospect of going to Ruka.

"Hey! Maybe we can check out how much it costs to ski for the day?" he said to Linka, hopping in the passenger seat of Sohvi's red four-wheel. Linka was driving.

"Wheeler, for the last time we're not going to be able to do this!" said Linka, exasperated. Ever since she invited Wheeler to Finland, he couldn't stop talking about what a great opportunity it would be to improve his snowboarding skills.

"I'm just saying, if we get time," Wheeler added offhandedly, clicking his seatbelt in place as Linka backed out of the driveway and onto the road. "We might get time."

Ruka wasn't too far from Sohvi's house – forty minutes at the most. As Wheeler and Linka closed in, the sides of the road were lined with people carrying skies or snowboards, eager to hit the mountain. It was a beautiful sunny morning outside, and there was definitely no shortage of snow! Linka could sense Wheeler 'itching' in his seat.

"Look, this hospital deal," Wheeler started, looking longingly at all the skiers and snowboarders out his window. "It's not going to take that long, right? Botta bing botta boom, we're in we're out!"

Linka sighed, tired of fighting him. It wasn't as if she wouldn't mind going skiing herself – especially on a day like today. But her responsible side got the better of her. "I'm not sure how long it will take, Wheeler. Helping Sohvi should be our highest priority! As soon as we're finished checking on the patient, we should get back and help out in Sohvi's shelter."

"But she said you could be gone the whole day! Am I right?"

"Da, but – "

"So live a little, Linka! C'mon, we'll catch a chair up the mountain for an hour or two. I'll give you some snowboarding lessons, it'll be great! You'll fall over, I'll catch you."

"You do not quit do you, Yankee?" said Linka, peering at Wheeler with her signature smirk. "I was hoping to get some lunch maybe … "

"_Now_ you're talking!"

Wheeler always reveled in doing something with Linka that resembled a 'date'. Something intimate, where the two could be alone. A meal at a restaurant, a trip to the movies, a spin on the dance floor … whatever he could get, really! Linka enjoyed it as well, though she'd never readily admit it.

After they'd parked and left the car, they were directed towards the hospital by one of the locals. On arrival, Wheeler and Linka realised it was more of clinic then a hospital, as it wasn't very big. It resembled the other buildings in the village: wooden chalets with roofs blanketed in a thick bed of white snow. The only real distinctive difference between the hospital and the other buildings was the hospital had a large red cross marking it.

"Jake Spencer, please?" said Linka to the woman at the front desk. Then, while Wheeler excused himself to go use the bathroom, Linka went to the room where Jake was residing.

"Hello hello! Who's this then?" said Jake brightly, upon seeing her.

Linka almost did a double take. Jake Spencer could've been Wheeler's older brother! Hazel eyes, red hair (slightly browner then Wheeler's shade) and the same flirty smile. He was in his late twenties, lying in a white hospital bed plainly bored out of his brain. Needless to say he was overjoyed to see Linka at the door – and _not_ just because he was bored! There was a white bandage around his right arm, where he'd received the bite.

"Ah, hi," said Linka unsteadily, still shocked at having encountered a British version of Wheeler. "My name is Linka. I am Sohvi Riipas's cousin … "

"The veterinarian!" said Jake, recognising the name immediately. "She visited me in hospital last week. Nice girl. Come in, come in! What's your name, love?"

Linka introduced herself, sitting on a chair by Jake's bed. Typically, as Linka began to talk she was all business – sounding like a cross between a policewoman and a doctor, as she investigated what exactly happened to Jake and how he'd been feeling up until now.

"Frankly love, I'm _dying_ to get out of here. I was hoping you were an angel sent from heaven to rescue me!" he laughed. Linka had to keep herself from rolling her eyes. It was habitual after years of hanging around Wheeler and listening to these kinds of comments on a daily basis. "I feel fit as fiddle! It's odd though, every now and then I get these 'spells'. Like I suddenly feel really ill, and then I forget stuff … like a blackout. And then I'm fine again. All because of some bloody wolf bite! Bizarre, isn't it?"

"Da. It is very bizarre … " said Linka, eyeing his arm.

"I love your accent! You're Russian, aren't you?"

"Ahem!"

Wheeler had found them. It was a case of flirt-meets-flirt! Linka was reminded of two wolves meeting eachother's eyes across a field … before engaging in battle. Jake kept his cool, while Wheeler was clearly the more threatened of the two.

"Jake, this is my friend Wheeler," Linka introduced him.

"Your friend Wheeler!" echoed Jake. He was pleased Linka called Wheeler her 'friend'. Wheeler was not quite so pleased about it. "Nice to meet you, Wheeler."

"This guy's meant to be sick?" Wheeler said to Linka, rudely pointing his thumb at Jake.

"Wheeler, calm down! Jake only feels sick some of the time."

"Feeling quite all right at the mo, Wheeler! Thanks for noticing," said Jake wittily.

Knowing it would be impossible to get Wheeler to behave himself, Linka told Jake they needed to leave and that they would stop by again later on. Jake said he'd be looking forward to it, and then pressed to know if Linka had an email address. By this point Wheeler was dragging Linka out of Jake's room and out of the hospital by the hand.

"Wheeler, _let go_!" said Linka harshly, tearing herself from his grip. "What is the matter with you?"

"We are SO not going back to visit that guy!" huffed Wheeler, angered. He and Linka were now standing outside in the snow, facing eachother off.

"You are acting stupid again!" said Linka, hands going to her hips. "I was only asking him some questions, like I was supposed to be doing! That is the main reason why we have come here, da?"

"Linka, that guy was looking at you like you were lunch on legs! And speaking of lunch," Wheeler blazed past her, "let's get going!"

"Going where?" she demanded, not moving.

"I'm buying you lunch, remember?" Wheeler called back, indicating for her to follow him. Linka grunted something in Russian, before trailing after him through the snow.

* * *

In an attempt to impress Linka, Wheeler took her to the classiest restaurant he could find. Linka told him not to worry, but Wheeler was determined – and when Wheeler was determined, there was little anyone could do to stop him. She chuckled at him from across the table, once they'd been seated by the waiter. Wheeler stared up at her from his menu, with his eyebrows crossed.

"What's so funny?"

"You, Yankee!" Linka smiled, very amused. "You are all … how you do say? Hot under the shirt?"

"That's 'hot under the collar', Linka," said Wheeler, lightening up suddenly. "Are you imagining me without my shirt on again?"

"You wish," said Linka, hiding her face behind the wine list. "At least you are now back to normal … "

He couldn't help take it one step further. "I'm always hot under the shirt around you, babe. _Ouch_!"

Linka took a swipe at him under the table.

"That was my ankle!" Wheeler complained.

"Da, I know," said Linka coolly, continuing to read the wine list. "Do you want red or white with lunch?"

"Red."

"And I would like white. We do not agree on much do we Yankee?"

"I guess that's why we're so perfect for eachother."

Every now and then, Wheeler would say something like this to Linka. It wasn't his usual brand of 'you're hot' or 'you're a babe' or 'you want me without my shirt' … it was different. It was a glimpse at something deeper happening between them. He'd say things like that more often now they were older. It always made Linka's heart beat faster whenever he did …

"Are you two ready to order?" asked the waiter, coming between them. Wheeler and Linka immediately unlocked eyes, proceeding to order what they wanted.

Wheeler and Linka's 'date', as it were, went quite well after that. Unfortunately, Linka had to spoil things by bringing up Jake again. They needed to return to the hospital so Linka could question him some more.

"You can visit the mountain if you like while I talk with him," Linka suggested futilely. Wheeler wouldn't hear a word of it.

"Nuh uh, no way!" he fumed, near slamming the credit card on the bill. "There's no possible way I'm leaving you alone in a room with that Jake guy! I've got a bad feeling about him … "

"If it makes you feel any better," Linka went on, "I am not interested in Jake. _At all_."

Linka hoped this statement would ease some of Wheeler's tension. It did … a bit.

"Why did you have to go tell him I was your 'friend'?" Wheeler grumbled unhappily. "Now he's thinks you're available!"

"So then come with me!" said Linka, back to being exasperated. "I will pretend like you are my boyfriend, ask him some more questions, and then we can leave! Butter bling butter bloom. Da?"

Wheeler smiled, stifling a laugh. "Linka! That's 'botta bing' … you know what? Nevermind. It was way cuter the way you said it! Let's go."

As they left the restaurant and made their way towards the hospital again, Wheeler couldn't help continue being a pain in Linka's side …

"Why do we have to ask the British douche more questions anyway?" Wheeler winged, getting on Linka's last nerve.

"Because, I did not get the whole story from him yet," Linka explained, walking ahead slightly. "You interrupted us, remember? _Bozhe moy_! What was that?"

Both Wheeler and Linka stopped walking; on the alert. Everyone around them had also stopped walking.

"Sounds like screaming," said Wheeler, listening hard. "_Lots _of people screaming. Coming from the hospital, c'mon!"

They ran – pelting their way through the double doors of the hospital. Before Linka could register what was going on, Jake Spencer was charging towards her! His expression, his eyes … they were _primal_. Linka felt like prey about to be attacked. There was no time to command her ring.

"_Agh_!" she screeched in fear, as Jake was about to make contact. Wheeler intervened in the nick of time, pouncing on him and pinning him to the floor with his weight.

"Stay the hell away from her, jackass!" Wheeler spat fiercely, punching Jake in the jaw. It didn't seem to do anything, because the next thing Wheeler knew he was flying through the air and landing on the otherside of the reception desk.

"Aaaahhhh!"

"_Wheeler_!" Linka cried after him.

In the second she had to spare, Linka took her chance.

"_Wind_!" she commanded, directing her ring at Jake. Jake was blown back against the wall, hitting his head; knocking him out. The employees at the hospital, now realising they were safe, rushed towards him to check he was subdued. They also rushed to Linka, asking if she was okay. They weren't quite sure what she'd done to save them, but they were happy regardless!

"Da, I am okay. Thank you," Linka said kindly. Wheeler in the mean time had climbed out from reception.

"Wheeler!" Linka cried again, speeding over to him. "Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

"He threw me!" said Wheeler in a scandalised voice. He stared at Jake's unconscious form, lying in the middle of a bunch of doctors and nurses all speaking frantically in Finnish.

"Da, I saw," said Linka, nursing Wheeler's hand. "You are going to need some ice for this."

Linka stopped one of the doctor's, asking for an icepack. Wheeler continued to stare at Jake. "He _threw_ me, Linka! A normal guy can't throw like that. Who does he think he is, the Terminator?"

"I know. Most unusual," said Linka, taking the icepack from the doctor and holding it against the back of Wheeler's hand. "Nor do normal people attack other people in hospitals like they were possessed by an animal."

Wheeler's eyes suddenly went wide as saucers. He knew it … he knew what was wrong!

"Of course! Linka, Jake was bitten by a wolf!"

"Oh no, Wheeler," said Linka helplessly, shaking her head. "Don't even go there … "

"He's becoming the _wolfman_!"

"And he goes there!" said Linka sarcastically. "Really Wheeler, stop watching those silly movies. You are going to scare yourself into a stupor."

"And it wasn't just any old wolf either," Wheeler proceeded to argue in his favour. "It was the 'infected' wolf."

This enticed Linka's scientific attention. She looked up at Wheeler, deep in thought. "Could it be … ? No," she said quickly, shaking her head once more. "Besides, we cannot make any conclusions at this time. Not without sufficient evidence, and not before I call Sohvi."

**To be continued ...**

* * *

**Bleh! Apologies for the late update. I've been super busy; don't have the time to idol away on this site like I used to. I have been working hard on this chapter for a while, and I wasn't happy with it when I initially wrote it so I had to start over. I never release anything I'm not happy with! Hope you enjoyed it. **


	3. Chapter Kolme

**If This Wall Could Talk, III.**

_Linka took a breath. What she was about to say, she wanted to say right. He deserved that. Six years later, since the day they'd first met, and they were finally saying all they ever meant to say …_

* * *

Jake was put back in his room. Once everything settled down, Linka went straight to a phone in the waiting room to call Sohvi.

"That's crazy!" said Sohvi from the other line, shocked. Linka had told her everything that had happened. "I'm so glad you're all right! As weird as it sounds, maybe the she-wolf that bit Jake passed something onto him?"

"They're going over Jake's blood test results again as we speak," Linka informed her. "Something may turn up. I'll look into it."

"Wow. That's quite an afternoon you and Wheeler have had! Do you mind staying there a bit longer? To see how Jake is when he wakes up? You probably won't get home until late … "

"It's fine, Sohvi. I was thinking the same thing anyway."

After Linka and Sohvi finished talking, Linka went to sit with Wheeler on a lounge. He had a bandage around his fist.

"So?" he said to her expectantly, as she sat down.

"So! I told Sohvi we'd stay here and wait for Jake to wake up."

Wheeler nodded … begrudgingly. He didn't fancy talking to Jake Spencer again – despite his curiosity about the guy being a potential 'wolfman'. "So what do you wanna to do 'til then?"

Linka shrugged. "I don't know. I am feeling a bit tired, I think I might have a nap. What do you want to do?"

"Have a walk around town, burn off some energy. You don't want to come with?"

"No thanks," said Linka with a yawn. "Maybe afterwards, if Jake wakes up sooner then later. But you go! I'll be okay here."

Wheeler nodded again, before adding, "Don't see him alone, all right? Wait for me to come back."

"Wheeler, please! I am a big girl, I can take care of myself."

"Do you or do you _not_ remember how the guy tried to eat you twenty minutes ago? Or did that just conveniently slip your mind!"

"He did not try to eat me!"

"He was gonna take a bite out of you! If I hadn't gotten in the way, that is … "

Wheeler said that last part rather sulkily, turning Linka's smirk to a warm smile. "Thank you, Wheeler," she said, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "For getting in the way. As usual."

"Any time," said Wheeler, smiling back at her briefly. Linka's 'kisses-on-the-cheek' were always bittersweet for him. He'd had plenty over the past six years … what he wanted was something more. Before he got carried away with _that_ kind of thinking, he stood from his seat and stretched his arms.

"I'm outta here," he announced. "And remember Linka, don't see Jake without me! Promise?"

"Da! I promise."

"Cross your heart?"

"Go away, Wheeler!" said Linka teasingly, laying down on the couch.

* * *

"Linka? _Linka_."

Linka opened her eyes. Somebody was rocking her shoulder. She looked up …

"Wheeler," she yawned, sitting upright. "How long has it been?"

"'Bout an hour," said Wheeler. "He's awake. You want to see him?"

Together, Wheeler and Linka walked down a hallway towards Jake's room.

"Did you get back just now?" Linka asked Wheeler conversationally.

"No. I got back like, fifteen minutes ago."

"Oh. Why didn't you wake me?"

"I liked watching you sleep … "

"What?"

"Er … you looked so peaceful! Is all I mean," Wheeler was quick to add, embarrassed for some reason. "We're here! Let's get this over with."

Wheeler and Linka entered Jake's room. Jake, sitting up in his bed, was almost exactly as he'd been when Linka first saw him earlier in the day … though he was notably less 'chirpy' now then before.

"Hey! It's you lot," he said, eyes sparking with recognition.

"Hello, Jake," said Linka politely. "How are you feeling? You seem … "

"_Sane_?" Jake cut in with a wiry smile. "My doctor told me what happened. I can hardly believe it … I don't remember a thing. And on that note: I'm so, _so_ sorry Linka! You as well, Wheeler. I heard I tossed you some where?"

"Behind the reception desk," grumbled Wheeler, his ego bruised.

"Right," said Jake, mystified. "My apologies. I didn't know I could do that."

"Better me in harm's way then anyone else," said Wheeler, shifting his eyes quickly to Linka. Jake noticed.

It appeared Jake was back to normal, with no signs of aggression or any strange behaviour to speak off. Wheeler and Linka were perplexed; Jake more so. He honestly had no memory of ever leaving his room like a snarling, out-of-control maniac! Linka could tell he was shaken up about it, even though he was chatting openly in his usual friendly manner. He wasn't the type of guy to go around randomly attacking people …

"Linka?" said a young nurse at the door. "Could you step outside for a moment?"

"Ah … of course," said Linka, excusing herself from the room. Before she left, she gave Wheeler a stern glare, which could only be interpreted as _behave yourself_.

Wheeler and Jake. Left alone together … was this really a good idea?

"Nice girl," said Jake, half a minute after Linka had gone.

"She's my girlfriend," said Wheeler, without thinking.

"No she isn't," said Jake smartly, causing Wheeler's neck to burn an angry shade of scarlet. Jake chuckled. "_Relax_, mate! Linka's not your girlfriend but you plainly want her to be. What's the hold up?"

Frowning and feeling uncomfortable, Wheeler replied, "Um … that's private, dude."

"Respectfully," said Jake, backing off … a little. "All I'm saying is if you don't act quickly, some rugged scoundrel with a nice British accent – or anybody!" Jake added 'anybody' when he noticed Wheeler's neck turning red again. "_Somebody_ is going to snatch that one up. And that would be a right shame in my opinion, because you obviously care about her a great deal."

It was what Wheeler feared most. Somebody else with Linka …

"What's up with you, man?" he said to Jake in a stunned sort of way, after a moment's reflection. "One minute you're running wild around the hospital, the next you're talking to me like an Oprah special!"

"Too true!" Jake laughed heartily. "Severe mood swings, I could be turning into a woman. Maybe that's what the doctor's are discussing now?"

When Linka returned to Jake's room, she half expected to find the boys at eachother's throats. It took her completely by surprise to discover them laughing and getting along like old friends.

"What is this?" she said, almost rudely.

"Hey, you're back!" said Wheeler, happy to see her. Jake was happy to see her as well.

"What did the doctor say? Will I be changing my name to Jennifer any time soon?"

Wheeler and Jake both laughed, leaving Linka very confused.

"I am not understanding boys!" she muttered to herself, lost.

* * *

The reason Linka had left the room earlier was to take a phone call at reception from Sohvi, who confirmed there were traces of an anabolic steroid in the she-wolf's infected blood. This then later matched up with what was found in Jake's blood. Worried, Linka asked the head doctor if Jake would be okay, thinking how Sohvi had told her the she-wolf had died …

"There's not enough of it in his system to cause any long term damage," the doctor told Wheeler and Linka, in reference to Jake. "He'll have to be here a couple more days, but I'm certain he'll make a full recovery."

Satisfied with this information, Wheeler and Linka said goodbye to Jake for the time being and left the building. It was far too late in the afternoon for Wheeler to go snowboarding … plus it had begun to snow heavily.

"What gives?" said Wheeler, catching large fluffy white snowflakes in his gloved hands. "This just came out of no where!"

"Snow usually comes out of no where here. This is Finnish Lapland," Linka informed Wheeler knowledgably, zipping her jacket up tight and tucking her hands in her pockets. "Located just below the Arctic Circle."

"Thank you Miss Geography!" grumbled Wheeler, cranky because they had to head back to Sohvi's place already. He'd hoped to have Linka to himself a little longer ... with this in mind, Wheeler dragged his feet through the snow after her, as she led the way back to Sohvi's four-wheel drive.

Snow, snow and _more_ snow!

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive?" Linka asked Wheeler, who'd insisted on taking the steering wheel this time round. They were now on the road – fifteen minutes away from Sohvi's house.

"Your eyesight's no better then mine, babe," said Wheeler, leaning forward in his seat to try and see more clearly through the windshield. The windscreen wipers did their best to plough an opening through the blanket of snow immersing the car. Even so, visibility beyond that was only so-so.

"Make sure you keep under the speed limit."

"I _am_ keeping under the speed limit, Linka! And by the way," Wheeler turned to her quickly, "I was right, wasn't I?"

"About what?"

"About the infected she-wolf passing something onto Jake."

"Wheeler, those were not the words you used! You said Jake was becoming the _wolfman_. He's not becoming the wolfman, he's just on steroids."

"But _I_ saw the connection!" Wheeler emphasised proudly. "I thought it up before you did, admit it."

"Okay, fine!" said Linka, giving in. "You saw the connection. You are smarter then me. Is this what you want to hear?"

"Just that you think I'm smart," he said impishly, looking at her again. Eyes lingering a little longer then they should …

"Watch the road, Yankee!"

"I am!" said Wheeler, eyes rapidly shifting back to the windshield. "I am, I am … "

"What did you and Jake talk about when I left the room?" Linka enquired, staring at Wheeler suspiciously. This had been praying on her thoughts ever since they'd left the hospital.

"Huh?" said Wheeler, who'd been daydreaming. "What did I what?"

"With Jake! After I left the room to talk to Sohvi on the phone, you two were laughing and smiling like two idiot boys! I thought you didn't like him?"

"Nah, Jake's cool!" said Wheeler. "We bonded."

"How?"

"We just … talked about stuff. Idiot boy stuff! It's not important."

Linka gave it away; crossing her arms and making a distinctive "_hmph_!" sound of annoyance. While she stared out her window, Wheeler's eyes kept darting sideways in her direction. He was working himself up to say something. His throat suddenly felt very, _very_ dry …

"Ah … Linka?" he uttered, voice cracking.

"Hm?" Linka murmured, continuing to stare out her window. "What is it now?"

"_Wo_!"

Wheeler hit the breaks, bringing the car to an immediate halt. Everyone was flung forward, saved by their seatbelts.

"Wheeler! What – "

But Linka didn't need to ask why Wheeler had stopped so suddenly. For she could see, through the gap in the windshield, standing there outside in the middle of the road was a man. Only half a metre away, cast against the snowy glow of their headlights. Just standing there – not moving. Staring at them. Wheeler pulled over to the side of the road.

"I'll get out of the car and see if he's okay," said Linka, already undoing her seatbelt.

"_No_!" said Wheeler, actually reaching over to hold her arm. "No, I'll do it. Stay here."

Before Linka could argue with him, Wheeler scrambled out of the car and slammed the door shut. Out into the cold and billowing snow …

"Hey, buddy!" Wheeler called out. The man was middle-aged, dark haired and around the same height as Wheeler, wearing a winter jacket and a black beanie. "Buddy, you all right? You speak English?"

"I don't like this … " said Linka to herself, sitting in the car. Unable to sit calmly any longer, she opened her door and went out. Wheeler spun around to her immediately.

"Linka! What are you doing?"

"WHEELER, BEHIND YOU!"

Without warning, the man in the road lunged at Wheeler and pulled him to the ground.

"AGH!" Wheeler cried, caught completely by surprise.

Struggling, the anonymous man's eyes were wild – his mouth open and his teeth exposed. He tried fiercely to overpower Wheeler … to get close enough for just _one_ bite …

"WIND!" Linka shouted, aiming her ring right on target.

"FIRE!" Wheeler shouted at the same time.

The effect was a double-whammy. Just as Linka managed to blow the man away from Wheeler, Wheeler also managed to burn him. Only slightly.

"_Wheeler_!" Linka panted, dashing to Wheeler's side and kneeling beside him. "Did he get you?"

"I'm good, I'm fine," said Wheeler, wincing. Linka hooked her arm under his, helping him to his feet. "There was wet blood on the dude's hand. He must've been bitten, just recently … hey? Where'd he go?"

They were looking out to the snowy field adjacent to the road.

"He was right _there_!" said Wheeler, pointing to an empty man-shaped hole in the snow. Worried, both he and Linka scanned up and down the road. Searching.

"There's too much snow!" said Linka, hardly able to see anything. No matter how much she tried.

"Then let's get the hell out of here!" said Wheeler, already backing up towards the car. The headlights were blaring brightly, like a shining beacon.

"But Wheeler," said Linka, rooted to the spot. "He might be hurt!"

"He can't be hurt if he's run off _that_ fast," said Wheeler logically, coming over to take Linka's hand. "Let's go, babe! It's too dangerous out here. He might be lurking around here some place, waiting to strike again!"

"But he needs medical attention!"

"Yeah, and so will we if we don't move! _C'mon_!"

* * *

When Wheeler and Linka arrived at Sohvi's house and entered inside, Linka found a note that read:

_Staying late at the veterinary clinic with Nell the wolf cub, I'll be home close to midnight. Anneli is at her mother's house until tomorrow. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, and call me when you get back! Let me know you guys are safe …_

_Sohvi xx_

As the note instructed, Linka called her cousin at the clinic where she worked. Sohvi was, once again, in a state of shock to hear Wheeler and Linka had had a second encounter somebody bitten by an infected wolf.

"I'm sorry I can't get back any sooner!" Sohvi said apologetically to Linka over the phone. "I have to analyse the she-wolf's blood sample again, and do a few other things around here with Nell … "

"Sohvi, don't worry about us. Really! We handle dangerous situations all the time, Wheeler and I will be fine alone."

"All right. Just make sure you lock all the doors! And bring Aki and Torr in for the night. You said this guy on the road was only fifteen minutes away, correct?"

"Da," said Linka in confirmation.

"Then there might be an infected wolf roaming close by. I don't want the dogs left out if this is the case. And neither of you go out either! Stay inside from now on."

As the night drew near, Wheeler and Linka were quite content to stay indoors in their pajamas. They'd brought Aki and Torr in like Sohvi had asked them to. The two huskies curled up together on the rug, warming themselves by the open fire. Meanwhile, Wheeler and Linka hit the kitchen to prepare something for dinner. Wheeler insisted on making omelets … considering it was one of the only things he _could_ make.

"Watch this," said Wheeler, lifting the pan from the stove … getting ready to flip the omelet over. "One … two … _three_!"

It rose up in the air … and then splattered on the kitchen floor. Both Wheeler and Linka started laughing.

"Well, I guess the dogs can eat that one," said Linka, still chuckling at Wheeler.

Moving into the lounge room to eat dinner, Wheeler and Linka sat side-by-side on the couch with their plates positioned on their laps. Thinking about the day thus far …

"You all right?" Wheeler said suddenly to Linka. She looked up from her plate towards him.

"Da. Why do you ask?"

"A lot of creepy stuff has happened today," Wheeler elaborated. "I was checking in." Linka smiled.

"I am all right. And you? How is your hand? And your back! That was a bad fall you had on the road before."

"At least I wasn't bitten," said Wheeler thankfully. "I'd hate to end up like Jake or the crazy dude on the road. Unable to control myself. My emotions … "

"Da, because you are always so in control of your emotions," Linka wisecracked.

"Actually," said Wheeler, swallowing some food, "you'd be surprised how much I _do_ control! Despite how hard that can be most of the time … "

Before Wheeler could go on with what he was saying, a sound came from outside. From the front porch. Wheeler and Linka quickly turned their heads to the window behind them. All they could see through the frosted glass was the darkened grey sky and the falling snow ...

"What do you think that was?" said Wheeler, in a low voice.

"A house sound?" Linka suggested. "This is an old house. It creaks in the night."

"No, it sounded like somebody on the porch," said Wheeler, putting his plate aside and standing up to go see.

"I'm sure it's nothing," said Linka, trying to keep her cool. She really didn't want to think about somebody being on the front porch!

"I can't see anyone out there," said Wheeler from the window. "What if that guy from the road followed us back home?"

Annoyed, Linka stood from the couch and closed the drapes over the window Wheeler had been looking through.

"Nobody is out there, Wheeler. This is not like a script from one of your stupid horror movies!"

"Linka, our whole day has been like a script from one of my stupid horror movies! I'm sorry if I'm scaring you – "

"Good. Then stop! Or I won't be able to sleep tonight if you keep talking this way."

Speaking of going to sleep, after they'd eaten dinner and cleaned up in the kitchen, Linka told Wheeler she was feeling sleepy and headed upstairs to bed. Wheeler stayed downstairs, to watch some TV. Linka warned him to give the horror flicks a rest for the night … not that Wheeler took her advice. About an hour after she'd gone, and just as she was dozing off in her bed … another sound from outside. The sound of howling. Linka sprung up, clinging to her blankets.

Half a minute later …

"_Linka_?" Wheeler's voice whispered from the darkness. He was standing at her doorway "Linka, it's me!"

Linka groaned, holding her hand to her heart in fright. "Da, Wheeler. It is not like there are any other Yankee American boys staying in the house tonight! What do you want?"

"Did you hear that? That howling?"

As if on cue, the sound of howling repeated itself.

"It sounded close to the house!" said Linka, unable to help herself.

"I bet it's one of those infected wolves!" Wheeler said in a panicked voice. "Or the wolfman!" Linka groaned again.

"He is _not_ a wolfman, Wheeler!"

"I think I should sleep in here tonight," Wheeler went on to say, unable to mask the fear in his voice. "To protect you."

"Sleep in _here_?" Linka echoed him. "Are you out of your mind? This is the worst come on you have ever tried with me!"

"It's not a come on!" Wheeler protested sincerely. "I meant I'll sleep on the floor. Please?"

"Oh, all right!" said Linka, aggravated. Truth be told, considering how worked-up she was, Linka was happy to have him sleep in the same room as her.

"Thanks, babe. I owe you one! I'll just set myself at the base of the bed … "

"Nyet," said Linka, making a very bold and impulsive decision. "You've hurt your back, you shouldn't be sleeping on floor. You sleep here."

"Eh … " Wheeler wasn't sure he'd heard her correctly. "You mean … _with you_?"

"Get in the bed, Wheeler!" she demanded, exasperated. Wheeler did not need telling twice!

Facing the opposite direction, Linka felt Wheeler shift the blankets … coming to rest on the other side of the bed.

"Never thought I'd hear you say 'get in the bed' to me," he couldn't resist saying, lying beside her. "You should give me lines like that more often."

"You keep to your side Yankee, or I will – "

"I know, I know! You'll tornado me right out the window."

"Something like that. Are you scared any more?"

"I wasn't scared, Linka!" Wheeler lied. "Like I said, I came in here to protect you."

"More like _I_ am the one who is protecting you! Goodnight, Wheeler."

"'Night, Linka. Sweet dreams"

The sound of howling no longer bothered them. It had been replaced by an issue far more intense …

Of course it entered both their minds. How easy it would be to cross that ever-so-small, delicate gap between them. For one of them to reach out and seek permission … seek the warmth of other person's body. Linka dealt with such heated reflections by staying frozen. Wheeler on the other hand dealt with it by fidgeting and flipping around – as if he were trying to fall sleep on a hot plate. Linka had to hush him on three occasions. By some miracle, despite the 'heat', they both eventually drifted off.

**To be continued ...**

* * *

**I feel I'm getting a better grasp of this fanfic now. It's predominately a Wheeler and Linka story, set to the backdrop of a B-grade horror movie! Hence, I've changed the genre to Romance/Horror. I know what happens in the last chapter (I've already written most of it), it's just the in-between stuff I'm sorting out. Stay tuned!**


	4. Chapter Neljä

**If This Wall Could Talk, IV.**

_Linka took a breath. What she was about to say, she wanted to say right. He deserved that. Six years later, since the day they'd first met, and they were finally saying all they ever meant to say …_

* * *

Early that next morning, there was a tentative knock at Linka's door.

"Linka? Linka wake … up."

Sohvi stood gaping at the open doorway. Linka and Wheeler – _together_. Linka and Wheeler together in the same bed! Linka woke and sat up, looking drowsily towards her cousin. It took her a moment to realise why Sohvi was gaping at her. Linka turned from Sohvi to Wheeler, who was sleeping soundly beside her.

It did not look good.

"_Linka_!" Sohvi hissed, a smile now on her face.

"It's not what it looks like!" Linka blurted out, waking Wheeler in the process.

"Shme – wha?" Wheeler grumbled inaudibly; half sitting up with his eyes squinted and his red hair sticking up all over the place.

Sohvi and Linka retreated downstairs to the kitchen, leaving a very tired Wheeler to fall back to sleep. Linka then spent the next half-hour explaining to Sohvi what _actually_ happened between her and Wheeler last night. Her account of events left Sohvi severely disappointed.

"So you're telling me," Sohvi began, while boiling a kettle of water, "that you and Wheeler spent the whole night together in the same bed without _anything_ happening? Not a single thing?"

"Da!" said Linka in confirmation, seated at the breakfast table. She weighed her head against her hand and yawned. "I did not sleep so well. I don't think Wheeler did either … "

"Of course you didn't sleep well. All that restraint, for the entire night … trying to stop yourselves from giving into the overwhelming desire for wild, animal se – "

"_Sohvi_!" hissed Linka, deeply embarrassed. "Wheeler could come down here and hear you!"

"I hope he does!"

Sohvi went over to the breakfast table, sitting herself down across from Linka.

"I'm not interested in being with Wheeler for only … the physical reasons," Linka spoke in a hushed voice. "There's more to it than that. A lot more … "

"I know, Linka. I am just teasing. So how did Wheeler end up in your bed exactly?"

Linka shrugged awkwardly. "He was … scared."

Sohvi lifted a suspicious eyebrow.

"And so was I!" Linka stressed, trying to prove herself. "You know how we were almost attacked by that creepy man on the road yesterday, as we were driving home? We were both … how you say? Shaken up? And then there was all this howling during the night. Wheeler kept talking about that guy Jake and how he was a 'wolfman'."

"I see," said Sohvi, reflecting upon this a moment. "Though I think there's a lot more to it than that. Do you want to hear why?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"You and Wheeler want to be close to one other, but neither one of you is willing to be direct about it. Letting him sleep in your bed because you were scared?" Sohvi giggled. "Please! You're kidding yourselves."

"It is true!"

"_Partially _true, you mean. It's like there's a constant wall between the two of you. The only way you're going to get past it is to talk to him, Linka. Tell Wheeler the truth."

"But what if he doesn't – "

"_He does_!" Sohvi interrupted. "He does."

* * *

Feeling stifled in the house all of sudden, Linka offered to go outside and shovel some snow. However, as Linka realised once she was out there in her winter coat and boots, a shovel was not really necessary.

"_Wind_!"

A blue-white spiral of light erupted from Linka's Planeteer ring, collecting the snow up off the driveway and into the air like a blizzard. She hoped this activity would keep her mind off her conversation with Sohvi.

_Talk to him. _

"Why does it have to be so difficult?" she wondered out loud, staring down at her feet and digging her boot heel stubbornly into the ground. "Why can't _he_ be the one to talk to _me_ … "

Something suddenly made Linka stop talking … stop breathing. She'd sensed a presence sneaking up behind her; even before she saw their looming, dark shadow cast in the snow before her feet on the snow. She swiftly turned round, looking directly into their eyes …

Linka was about to scream, but there was a sudden sensation on her neck and before she could react or figure out what was going on, she'd fallen to the ground. Unconscious.

* * *

Meanwhile … in Berlin, Germany …

Kwame, Gi and Ma-Ti were standing inside the central exhibit hall of the Natural History Museum. Gi was trying to get Kwame to take a picture of her and Ma-Ti in front of the _Brachiosaurus__ brancai _dinosaur skeleton, which was over forty feet tall. Kwame however, was busy talking to a Japanese girl who'd asked him for directions.

"What does she need directions for? She's holding a map!" said Gi snappishly, staring at Kwame and the Japanese girl from afar. Mat-Ti peered over at her … worried.

_Great. First Wheeler and Linka, now these two …_

"Sorry!" said Kwame, rushing towards Gi and Ma-Ti. "She was very lost."

"I'm sure," said Gi, a tad snobbishly.

All of sudden, Ma-Ti doubled over and winced. Pressing his hand against his forehead.

"_Ma-Ti_!" said Kwame and Gi in unison, concerned.

"Ma-Ti, what is it? What's wrong?" Gi asked him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Linka," Ma-Ti said painfully, his head throbbing. "Linka's in danger … Wheeler doesn't know … "

"What kind of danger?" said Kwame fearfully.

"She's been taken … I'm not sure where, I can't see anymore. It's gone."

Ma-Ti's vision ceased. He took his hand away from his forehead and stood up straight.

"Taken like … _kidnapped_?" said Gi. Ma-Ti nodded.

"Yes, but I don't know by who or to where! She's unconscious. I can't reconnect with her … "

"And Wheeler doesn't know?" Kwame clarified. "Then we must warn him at once!"

"C'mon, let's go!" said Gi, leading the way out of the museum. They needed to go some place private, where Ma-Ti could communicate with Wheeler via his Heart ring.

* * *

"Wheeler … _Wheeler_!"

"Whassa!" Wheeler spoke in surprise, flipping upright in Linka's bed. He'd been fast asleep. "Ma-Ti? Ma-Ti is that you?"

"Yes!" came Ma-Ti's familiar voice. "Wheeler, Linka's been kidnapped!"

Wheeler blinked multiple times, and rubbed his eyes. Surely Ma-Ti was pulling his leg. "Kidnapped?" he repeated. "What do you mean Linka's been kidnapped? She's sleeping in bed next to me … "

He looked over at the empty space beside him, where Linka had been laying. It was then Wheeler vaguely recalled her going downstairs about an hour ago with Sohvi.

"She was outside in the snow," Ma-Ti continued to explain. "Somebody came up behind her and knocked her out. I can't see where she is now but she's gone, Wheeler!"

The hairs on the back of Wheeler's neck suddenly stood on end. Panic set in. Without another moment's thought, Wheeler tore himself out of bed and bolted down the stairs – wearing only a T-shirt and white boxer shorts with love hearts on them.

"Wheeler?" Sohvi called out to him from the lounge room. "Wheeler, what are you doing? You can't go outside like that, it's freezing!"

But Wheeler didn't get very far. After he opened the front door, he stopped in his tracks. At his feet was a white envelope. On top of the envelope was Linka's Planeteer ring. She was never without it.

"LINKA!" Wheeler called out in vain, running out into the freezing cold. He ran through the snow bare foot, until he reached the road. "_LINKA_!"

Ma-Ti was right. Linka was gone.

* * *

The envelope on the porch was addressed specifically to Wheeler. Now back inside the house, Wheeler opened the envelope and retrieved a letter from inside, instructing him to go to _the exact place_ where Kwame and the others had dropped him and Linka off two days before. It also instructed him to come alone, and to bring Linka's Planeteer ring with him.

Wheeler suddenly had a very disturbing thought …

"They want me to go the place where the Geo-Cruiser dropped me and Linka off," he said to Sohvi. "Whoever this letter's from … they must've been watching us all this time."

"But who?" wondered Sohvi, fraught with worry for her lost cousin. "Who would be watching you guys?"

"We're Planeteers, Sohvi," said Wheeler plainly. "We've got our pick of enemies."

With that established, Wheeler charged up the stairs to dress in warmer attire. The letter did not specify when Wheeler was meant to meet 'whoever' it was, but he figured if he was being watched they would know of his arrival.

There was not a second to lose.

* * *

Back in Berlin …

Kwame, Gi and Ma-Ti were huddled together at the side of the Natural History Museum, away from prying eyes. Ma-Ti had just finished his 'transmission' to Wheeler, and the others were keen to know what had happened.

"What did Wheeler say, Ma-Ti?" asked Kwame.

"He did not believe me at first," Ma-Ti informed them both. "He was asleep in bed. He thought Linka was sleeping beside him … "

"What!" said Kwame and Gi in unison, stunned. Ma-Ti, who'd been previously innocent, suddenly realised what he'd just said.

"Oh," he mouthed lowly. "Um … maybe he'd been dreaming?"

"It does sound like a dream Wheeler would have," noted Kwame thoughtfully. "Or … "

"Or they finally … " said Gi, not needing to finish her sentence for the others to know what she was talking about. "But we can't think about this now. We've got to get to the Geo-Cruiser and fly back to Finland! We have to help Wheeler find Linka."

"He _is_ trying to find her, right?" Kwame asked Ma-Ti. "He did eventually believe you?"

"Yes, he believed me in the end," Ma-Ti confirmed. "He became very panicked. I could feel his heart beating out of his chest. I'm certain he's gone to search for her."

The three of them made their way back to the Geo-Cruiser, bound for Finland.

* * *

Wheeler arrived at the place – the wide, snowy field where the letter had told him to go. The place he and Linka had first set foot on in Finland. He'd driven Sohvi's red four-wheel drive off the highway and to the centre of the field. From here, he got out of the car. Then he waited.

He didn't have to wait very long.

Rising from the line of trees ahead was a large, purple aircraft. It had been waiting for him … like an eagle waiting to strike its prey. Wheeler recognised the aircraft immediately – it belonged to none other than Dr. Blight. It glided towards him, until it hovered directly overhead.

"So Dr. Blight's the culprit!" Wheeler sneered up towards the aircraft, his hands balled into fists. "I swear if she's done anything to hurt Linka, I'll … "

"You'll what? Call Captain Planet?" came Dr. Blight's sarcastic voice over a loudspeaker. "Woops! Can't call Captain Puns-A-Lot without the cute little blonde Planeteer, can you?"

Dr. Blight cackled wickedly with laughter. From the base of aircraft, a hatch opened and a rope ladder dropped down. "Climb up! If you want to see her alive," she ordered.

Grabbing onto the ladder, Wheeler did as he was told. He knew he was climbing into a trap … but he didn't see any other choice in the matter. Linka needed him.

"Welcome aboard!"

It was far from a warm greeting. While Dr. Blight's aircraft flew in autopilot, Wheeler was now sitting in what looked like a dentist's chair with Dr. Blight herself standing before him. MAL – Dr. Blight's servile, wisecracking computer sidekick was in front of him as well. He had a laser gun attached to his computer monitor, aimed directly at Wheeler's head.

"No funny business," MAL threatened. "Or I'll burn a hole right through your eco-ridden brain!"

"Speaking of burning stuff … "

Wheeler had made to strike MAL with his ring, until Dr. Blight intercepted.

"_Uh uh_! Don't even think about it, hotshot. Hand over the ring like a good boy or you can say goodbye to wind girl!"

"Her name is Linka!"

"_Your ring_!" Dr. Blight demanded sternly, holding out her palm. "You either hand it over nicely, or I'll have MAL remove your finger."

"Oh goodie!" said MAL, sounding as if the removal of one of Wheeler's digits would be a real treat.

Relenting, Wheeler removed his fire ring from his finger and passed it over to Dr. Blight.

"_And_the other one," Dr. Blight made sure to add.

Fishing inside the pocket of his pants, Wheeler retrieved Linka's wind ring and handed it over to Dr. Blight as well. Dr. Blight slid both their rings onto her index finger, while admiring them fondly.

"That's two out five. Not bad for a day's work!"

"Where's Linka?" Wheeler demanded to know, glaring angrily at the two of them from beneath his brow. "I've held up my end of the bargain, Blight! I've given you our rings and I came here by myself. I've done everything you've asked!"

"Who said anything about a bargain?" Dr. Blight mocked him. "Honestly, who do you think you're dealing with? You think because you've obeyed my every command I'll give you what you want? HA! You have much to learn."

"Where is she!" Wheeler said again, much more forcefully this time. Dr. Blight laughed at him, and then turned to MAL.

"He'll make an excellent test subject. Don't you think MAL-ikins?"

"Indeed I do, doctor!" agreed MAL wholeheartedly. "He's already got quite a nasty temper. Just think what a good dose of your patented brand of anabolic steroids will do!"

"Anabolic steroids?" Wheeler repeated. "What are you … "

Realisation suddenly dawned upon Wheeler's face.

"You've been behind this whole thing," he began to accuse Dr. Blight. "The wolves becoming infected … and the people. It's been you the whole time!"

"Well _duh_!" said Dr. Blight, as if it were all so incredibly obvious. "I've been in Finland for weeks, formulating my brilliant scheme to perfection. And then, just when things were becoming interesting, who do you think I spy on my turf? Sticking their noses into other people's business like they always do? _Planeteers_!"

"Why?" Wheeler questioned. "Why are you doing this?"

"Did Dr. Jekyll have a motive when he created Mr. Hyde?" Dr. Blight challenged him. "I'm a scientist. I experiment, it's what I do. If I wake up one day and decide to engineer some 'werewolves', so be it!"

"You're crazy," snarled Wheeler, his temper at boiling point. "You're out of your mind! Where's Linka you crazy – "

Wheeler was about to leap up in rage, until MAL pressed his laser into his forehead. Forcing Wheeler back into his seat.

"Down boy," said MAL with a satisfied smirk.

"Strap him to the chair," Dr. Blight commanded MAL, turning away from them and over to the aircraft control panel. "He'll be in lockdown with the other one soon enough."

"As you wish, doctor!"

Two seatbelt-like straps were suddenly unleashed from Wheeler's chair, tying around his torso and legs like a pair of snakes. Wheeler struggled to break free, but his efforts were useless.

"What do you mean you'll have me in lockdown soon enough?" Wheeler shouted over to Dr. Blight. "Where's lockdown? Is that where you're keeping Linka? Answer me!"

Dr. Blight was losing her patience.

"Gag him for me, will you MAL darling? I'm trying to fly a ship here!"

"It'd be my pleasure, doctor!"

Another strap appeared out from Wheeler's seat – this one tying itself tightly around Wheeler's mouth. He could no longer speak, only mumble inaudibly.

"Ah, that's better," Dr. Blight sighed serenely.

Seeing as Wheeler couldn't speak, he had no choice but to wait and see where Dr. Blight took him. He only hoped that wherever she did end up taking him, Linka would be there.

**To be continued ...**

* * *

**At last, I'm writing on this site again! At last, the next chapter has been released! I'm happy to be back. I have nothing else to say except I hoped you liked this new and very delayed addition to the story, and I'll get the next (and what my be the last) chapter up as soon as I possibly can.**


	5. Chapter Viisi

**If This Wall Could Talk, V.**

_Linka took a breath. What she was about to say, she wanted to say right. He deserved that. Six years later, since the day they'd first met, and they were finally saying all they ever meant to say …_

* * *

Dr. Blight landed her aircraft.

"We're here!" Dr. Blight announced, as if they'd landed outside the entrance of Disney Land. "And not a moment too soon. MAL darling, would you make sure Duke knows we're here?"

"I'm one step ahead of you, doctor dearest!" said MAL, already in the process of contacting 'Duke' – aka Duke Nukem. All the while Wheeler struggled and mumbled fervently in his seat, still strapped down and gagged against his will. Dr. Blight looked him over and rolled her eyes.

"Well, if you're going to go on like that … "

She pressed a button on the control panel behind her. Instantly, the strap that had been covering Wheeler's mouth was removed.

"WHERE'S LINKA, YOU CRAZY BITCH!" Wheeler exploded, as soon as he was free to do so.

"Ah ah ah, language young man!" MAL reprimanded him, maneuvering his computer monitor in front of Wheeler's enraged face. "There is quite a lot of spunk in this one, isn't there doctor?" Dr. Blight nodded in agreement.

"I must say, I'm pleasantly surprised! And here I thought Gaia had sucked all the spunk out of these planet-nerds."

"You said 'Duke' before," Wheeler went on, cooling down a touch. "As in Duke Nukem? What does he have to do with anything?"

"I'm calling in a favour," said Dr. Blight offhandedly. "The big lug owes me, I've been his main supplier of radioactive waste for the past month. And besides! He's very good at taking out the trash."

On cue, Duke Nukem boarded Dr. Blight's aircraft.

"Did someone say take out the trash?" came Duke Nukem's gruff, monstrous voice. Everyone except Wheeler began cackling with laughter.

"Guess who the trash is, hot stuff?" Dr Blight teased Wheeler, with a wink of her good eye.

* * *

"AGH!"

Wheeler landed hard on the concrete floor. Duke Nukem had thrown him into a jail cell, located deep underground.

After they'd left Dr. Blight's aircraft, Nukem forced Wheeler outside into the snow. They went into what looked like an old abandoned factory, and then down a long series of stairs. Down and down … until they reached the place where Wheeler was now. It was cold and dark. Next thing Wheeler knew, he was behind bars.

"The Honeymoon suite wasn't available," Duke Nukem joked, laughing as he walked back up the stairs, until Wheeler heard him open the door at the top and leave. Wheeler was alone … or so he thought.

"Wheeler?"

"_Linka_!"

Linka was locked in the opposing cell, separated from Wheeler by a stone wall. He quickly shuffled closer the bars, so he could hear her better.

"Linka! Are you okay, babe? I was so worried!"

"Da, I am okay! Are you okay?"

"I am now! What happened to you?"

"I was knocked out! By Duke Nukem I am suspecting. He … how you say? 'Shocked' me?"

Linka's voice quivered as she spoke. She was cold.

"Wheeler, how did you find me?"

"I got a free flight. Courtesy of 'Super Bitch Airways'!"

"What?"

"Dr. Blight."

"Oh … I see. "

Wheeler went on to tell Linka how Dr. Blight was behind the whole 'werewolf' mystery. To say Linka was outraged was an understatement.

"How can Dr. Blight keep doing this? It is so senseless! It serves no purpose, only to satisfy her need for amoral and destructive experiments! You were right, Wheeler. Somebody had been drugging the wolves all this time … "

"Ah, did you just say 'I was right'? Can I get that in writing?"

"Please Wheeler, no jokes! Not at a time like this. We need to think of a way to get out of here!"

"Don't worry, Ma-Ti and the others are on it. He contacted me earlier with his heart power. He sensed you'd been kidnapped."

"Thank goodness for Ma-Ti … "

Linka's shivering instensified.

"Bozhe moy, it's so cold down here!"

"I know," said Wheeler in agreement. "I sure wish you were on this side of the wall with me. I'd keep you warm."

To this, Wheeler heard Linka snort and mutter something under her breath. He wasn't sure what it was, but he was sure whatever it was it was vindictive.

"What? What'd I say?"

"You don't know how to stop flirting, do you? It is a sickness!" Linka snapped, her tone frosty. Wheeler figured it had little to do with the icy weather.

"I wasn't flirting, I was trying to offer some comfort seeing as where both trapped in freezing cold jail cells!" he argued, offended. "So this is the thanks I get for trying to rescue you?"

Again, Linka snorted.

"What rescue, Wheeler? I am still behind bars, and now you are as well!"

"You know, if my sickness is flirting, yours is being contemptuous and patronising all the time! Don't you get tired of holding that guard up twenty-four-seven? You're like a walking military fort!"

"Maybe if all your flirting _meant_ something, I would not have to be this way!"

"It does mean something!"

"Oh really? If it means something, why do you flirt with other girls!"

"What other girls?"

" _Anneli_, for example!"

He couldn't help it. Wheeler had to laugh.

"Linka, I'm not interested in Anneli! Have you lost it? In case it slipped your mind, Anneli is gay! Remember? Not much hope there."

There was a pause, Wheeler attempted to get his bearings, before speaking again. He felt like he'd passed through one of Linka's wind storms and wasn't quite sure where he'd landed.

"Linka, what's going on? I really did come here to rescue you. To _try _and rescue you, anyway. "

He heard her sniffle.

"Are you … are you crying?"

"NO!"

She was crying, Wheeler could tell. Now he was worried.

"Linka, what's wrong? Is this really about Anneli? I know I'm a flirt, I can't help it sometimes! It doesn't mean anything, honest!"

"So I am right then," Linka eventually spoke, in a deadpan voice. "When you flirt with me, it means nothing. It is what, like sport? Fun and games?"

"_No_!" Wheeler practically shouted. "It's not like that you with! I - "

"You what?"

Another pause. Linka cut in on the silence.

"_Six years_," she said heavily. To even say it made her feel exhausted. "Six years Wheeler, you and I have been playing this stupid cat and mouse game! I'm tired. I'm so tired … "

Tears ran down her face. On the otherside, Wheeler placed his hand on the cold wall. Reaching out for her, but not quite able to get there.

"It's always meant something," he said after a moment, in a serious voice. "The flirting, I mean. No matter how lame you thought it was. I want to be close to you, but you won't let me."

"That is not true!" said Linka, becoming argumentative again.

"Oh come on, Linka," said Wheeler cynically. "One of the first things you ever said to me was 'go avay'!"

"That was a long time ago. We were teenagers!" Linka protested. "And you were coming on too strong, I did not approve."

"You still don't approve!"

"What about last year, during your birthday at Coney Island?" Linka interceded. "We were in that boat and I tried to get close to you then, but you fell asleep and went all cloy!"

"That's 'coy', Linka," Wheeler corrected her. "And I was only coy because I just had some crazy dream about us really old with a million kids!"

"Was that the only reason?"

Wheeler went silent. He went silent for a long time, which was very uncharacteristic of him. Linka wondered what she had said to cause it.

"Wheeler?" she prompted.

"You broke my heart," he said in a low, pained voice. "Twice, I might add."

"What are you saying?" she asked, mystified.

"It's nothing. Forget it," he said gruffly.

"No, it is something! _Tell_ me!" Linka demanded, desperate to know. "Please tell me, Wheeler."

"You broke my heart when you went back home and left the Planeteers."

"That was because my grandmother was ill!" Linka retaliated. "I had no choice!"

"Don't forget your beloved 'Mischka'!"

"Who is my _brother_!"

"You _left_!" said Wheeler, his voice louder now. "You just up and left, like it was all so easy!"

"It wasn't easy!" cried Linka, her voice breaking. "It wasn't easy at all. In fact, if you must know, it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do! And besides, none of this matters now. I decided to return to the Planeteers, remember?"

"Yeah I remember. How could I forget that kiss?"

Linka caught her breath; remembering. Linka and Wheeler's first and _only_ kiss on the lips. It felt like decades ago.

"Even after everything I did to get you back," Wheeler continued. "Even after we _finally_ kissed, you still went and dated that Greg guy."

Linka knew this was coming. In truth, Linka never had deep feelings for Greg. He was just another 'wall'. Neither Linka nor Wheeler had been ready to be together back then. After _that kiss_, Wheeler behaved as he usually did around her. Linka concluded he wasn't serious about taking their relationship to the next level and, as a result, she latched onto Greg. Somebody older. Somebody 'serious'. Instead of explaining all of this to him, Linka simply said, "I'm sorry, Wheeler. Greg was a mistake."

She was sobbing now. Even though he was mad at her, Wheeler couldn't stand the sound of Linka crying.

"Please Linka, don't cry! It's not like I ever believed you'd be interested in me anyway. I'm a street kid from the slums of New York, and you're … you're this sophisticated, smart, beautiful girl. When I first met you, it was like you walked straight out of a dream. I'd be out of my mind to think I could ever get someone like you! I could've done so much more than flirt and act like an immature ass these past six years. I just didn't think there was any point."

Linka took a breath. What she was about to say, she wanted to say right. He deserved that. Six years later, since the day they'd first met, and they were finally saying all they ever meant to say …

Wiping her tears and composing herself, she said, "You know … I'm not so far out of your reach, Wheeler. And I've been scared too. Scared to vulnerable, I know this. I am sorry. But all this time, while you have been dreaming about me, I have been dreaming about you. I … I'm in love with you, Wheeler."

She said that last part in a very small, quiet voice; but not so quiet that Wheeler didn't hear. From the otherside of the wall she heard him sigh. He'd been holding his breath the entire time she'd been talking, and now, he could finally let go.

"Give me your hand!" he demanded suddenly. Linka was confused.

"My hand?"

"I need your hand!"

Linka did as Wheeler asked, reaching her hand through the bars towards his cell. She felt his cold hand grab hold of hers in the darkness, bringing it closer to him. Then she felt his breath and his lips – warm, press against her knuckles in a kiss. She smiled, as more tears ran down her face.

"Now I'm crying. Thanks!" Wheeler sniffed, kissing her hand again passionately. "I'm so happy I can barely think straight!"

Linka laughed. "That is nothing new!"

Wheeler laughed along with her, proceeding to kiss every inch of her hand. As he did, he kept murmuring her name. "Linka … Linka. Linka, I … "

A loud noise came from above. The sound of a door opening and closing. It was Duke Nukem. He was lumbering down the stairs with a torch, towards Wheeler and Linka's cell.

"Crap!" hissed Wheeler, not letting go of Linka's hand. "Talk about your all time bad interruptions."

"Maybe he is just checking up on us?" said Linka, sounding doubtful.

"Linka, listen to me," Wheeler began, speaking urgently. They didn't have much time. "I think he's coming for me. Dr. Blight and MAL mentioned they wanted me to be one of their test dummies."

"Test dummy for what?"

"They want to experiment on me! The same way they did with Jake."

"_No_!" said Linka in alarm, gripping Wheeler's hand.

"It'll be okay! Ma-Ti and the others know we're missing. They'll find us!"

"But Wheeler, what if they don't find us in time?"

"Well well well," said Duke Nukem, reaching the bottom of the stairs. He was shining his torch on Wheeler and Linka, who were still holding hands. An evil grin crossed his face. "Ain't that the sweetest thing you ever did see. Hope you finished saying goodbye to your girlfriend, planet puny!"

"You leave him alone!" cried Linka, standing up. The evil grin on Duke Nukem's face spread even wider.

"I intend to … for now. Dr. Blight wants you first, blondie."

"WHAT!" yelled Wheeler, also on his feet. "That's not what she said before. She said she wants to experiment on me first!"

"You'll get your turn. Seems the doc has had a change of heart! She hasn't experimented on a girl yet. She wants to see what it's like."

With a key in hand, Duke Nukem went over to Linka's cell and unlocked the door.

"Come along now, blondie," he said, grabbing Linka's arm and pulling her out. "Try any funny business and I'll fry you like an egg!"

Linka was powerless against Duke Nukem without her ring. Incensed, Wheeler swore and shook the bars of his cell.

"LEAVE HER ALONE, NUKEM! TAKE ME!"

"_Shut up_!"

"WHEELER!"

The last thing Linka saw was Duke Nukem fire radioactive shockwaves at Wheeler, and Wheeler's limp body drop to the ground. She tried to run for him, but Duke Nukem grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. She screeched and kicked in protest.

"NO! PUT ME DOWN!"

"Woops! I killed your boyfriend," Duke Nukem chuckled. "If Dr. Blight asks, we'll tell her it was accident!"

Duke Nukem disappeared with Linka up the stairs. Linka kept calling Wheeler's name, until they reached the top. She never heard him call back.

**To be continued …**

* * *

**Wow. I updated! It only took like ... a year. Or more. Sorry I've been out of action for so long. I hope you enjoyed this long awaited chapter! More soon.**


End file.
